I think Canadians have a tendency to romanticize Europe. I know I do. We have this mental image of Europe that has this almost fairy-tale like quality. When I was a kid, I remember thinking that a great battle had happened on every street and every city was home to a handful of Gothic castles and a limitless number of famous painters, poets and philosophers.
This is probably not the case but it's hard to deny Europe's contribution to the Western art world. In late March 2014, I went to Latvia to collect content for a radio documentary. Riga, Latvia's capital, was chosen as the 2014 European Capital of Cultural. A part of this campaign is inviting media people from around the world to Riga to create cultural stories about Riga.
I got to speak with a number of really interesting people from Riga's creative community and capture their stories. In this documentary, I speak with the Director of the Latvian Centre of Contemporary Art, the founder of Riga's most prominent electronic music label, an innovative Latvian folk musician whose music sounds like the soundtrack to an ancient mythical forest, an art manger who is transforming an abandoned Soviet building into an interdisciplinary art centre, an abstract visual artist who enjoys drawing on the walls and a spray can artist who paints giant street murals.
These are those stories.
I dedicate this documentary to John Morrison III and Dr. Michael Markwick. John encouraged me to perform my first interview and Michael showed me the importance of storytelling and alternative media. Thank you both.
Music
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Līgo! - Latvia Song Festival 2013
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXXwX3IPIhI
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Oriole
Yogga Massive
Light Child
Titled
oriole.bandcamp.com/
dirtydealaudio.lv/
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Sus Dungo
UNA
Mier Loul
Rasā Pēdas
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Data Romance
Can't Keep You Off My Mind
Waiting Place
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Laima Jansone
Zalktis
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